German wine has increased in popularity in Germany in the first half of 2008, bucking the general trend.

German wines have shown growth in the total German market for wine in the first half of 2008, running counter to the trend, with volume growth of 1.1 per cent and value growth of 2.2 per cent. The German Wine Institute (DWI), referring to figures published by the Company for Consumer Research (GfK), stated the overall market for wine in Germany among private consumers had decreased by 2.5 per cent in volume terms and by 4.5 per cent in volume terms in the same period.

Relative to the total volume of wine sales, the market share of German wines increased from 46.3 per cent in the first half of 2007 to 49.3 per cent in the same period of 2008. The three major producing countries Spain, France and Italy in part recorded double-digit losses in both volume and value sales. (WF)